Rookie Anderson nearing return to court — in Austin

Spurs rookie James Anderson could be back in uniform and playing in games by week’s end, but not for the Spurs.

The most recent MRI ?exam of Anderson’s right foot revealed that the stress fracture in his fifth metatarsal, suffered Nov. 8, is fully healed.

Cleared to begin on-court drills this week, the 6-foot-6 swingman from Oklahoma State will get back in game shape by playing for the Spurs’ NBA Development League team, the Austin Toros, perhaps as soon as this weekend.

“This coming week, he’s going to be going one-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three, that kind of thing, so he’ll have his first contact,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “The end of the week, or some time the following week, he’ll go down to the D-League to play for a while, so he’s a couple of weeks away from coming back to us, probably towards the end of the month.”

The Spurs’ ownership of the Toros franchise helps the club ease Anderson back into playing shape.

“Being able to put him in a controlled environment, we hope will be effective and efficient,” general manager R.C. Buford said. “The plan isn’t to send him down there to play him a lot of minutes, but it would be difficult to prescribe to Pop what the doctors want to see. But we can describe to the Toros staff what we’d like to see.”

The Spurs initially had projected Anderson’s return by mid-January but have opted for a cautious approach.

“According to the pictures, he’s healthy,” Popovich said, “but we’re going to extend it to make sure.”

Anderson made 10-of-20 3-pointers and averaged 7.0 points in six games before the stress fracture was found.

Bonner getting treatment: Forward-center Matt Bonner sat out Sunday’s game against the Nuggets because of the bone bruise in his right knee, suffered in Wednesday’s game in Milwaukee.

“The bruise is in the bone, so it has to have time to heal,” Bonner said. “I’m wearing a gel pack that’s supposed to help.”

The device, called a rebuild pack, transmits muscle and bone-healing nutrients through the skin.

Owens added: The newest member of the Spurs knows the right way to get his head coach’s attention.

Asked what he thought had gotten the attention of the Spurs, 6-foot-7 forward Larry Owens cited his defensive work and maturity.

“Defense and leadership,” he said. “I was the oldest guy on my Tulsa team, so I think I showed experience and leadership and defense.”

Owens, who came to the Spurs from the D-League’s Tulsa 66ers, impressed Popovich with his understanding of his new team’s priorities.

“We’ll give him credit for knowing what to say,” Popovich said. “He’s no dummy, that’s for sure.”

Owens started in all 23 games for Tulsa this season, averaging 12.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 31.1 minutes while shooting .462 (108 of 234) from the field, .373 (25 of 67) from 3-point range and .743 (52 of 70) from the foul line.

“It’s an honor to have the best team in the league look at you, evaluate you and want you to join their family,” Owens said.